All that is Solid … is a radical blog that seeks to promote a future beyond capital's social universe. "All that is solid melts into air" (Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, 'The Communist Manifesto', 1848).

Sep 7, 2010
5:00-7:00pm
University of Toronto
Regis College
100 Wellesley St. West
Toronto, ON

Between the Lines welcomes one and all to the launch of Our Friendly Local Terrorist by Mary Jo Leddy.

About the book:

“A chilling story that shakes your faith in our vaunted Canadian immigration system. Secret hearings, spying, betrayal, no accountability are features we associate with desperate dictatorships elsewhere, not our own government here in Canada. It is no wonder Canada’s stature in the human rights world has sunk to its lowest level ever. This is a national disgrace.” – Helga Stephenson, human rights activist

Ravensong is a passionate novel about a young woman’s search for answers to difficult questions by one of our foremost First Nations writers. Stacey must balance her family’s traditional ways against white society’s intrusive values. It is set in the 1950’s Pacific Northwest.

Lee Maracle is of Salish and Cree ancestry and a member of the Stó:lō Nation. Besides being a professor at the University of Toronto, she has also been the Stanley Knowles Visiting Professor in Canadian Studies at the University of Waterloo. Maracle has been the Traditional Cultural Director of The Centre for Indigenous Theatre and has worked as an instructor of dramatic composition and theatrical representation. Maracle’s works reflect her antipathy toward racism, sexism, and white cultural domination.

The Dr. Chun Resource Library is a joint project of the Centre for Women and Trans People at U of T, and OPIRG-Toronto.

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MAYORAL CANDIDATES’ DEBATE: “INCLUSION: ECONOMIC, SOCIAL AND POLITICAL PARTICIPATION FOR DIVERSE COMMUNITIES IN TORONTO”

Coalitions can be important tools for social change and union revitalization. What makes them successful? What causes them to fail? Union and community organizer Amanda Tattersall examines successful coalitions between unions and community organizations in three countries: the public education coalition in Sydney, Toronto’s Ontario Health Coalition fighting to save universal health care, and Chicago’s living wage campaign run by the Grassroots Collaborative. She explores when and how coalitions can be a powerful strategy for social change, organizational development and union renewal.

In the last week of July 2010, workers of United Steelworkers (USW) Local 9537, who have been locked out of their workplace and on the picket-lines for nearly five months, found a big pile of shit sitting right smack-dab by their picket-line outside of a warehouse in Vaughan, just north of Toronto. One could not ask for a better symbol of retail-capital’s attitude toward their workers.

Growing evidence from the U.S. indicates the for-profit virtual university is no solution and Canadian universities, faculty and potential students should be more aware of the potential pitfalls of privatized post-secondary education.

On the heels of a commemoration marking the 25th anniversary of the landmark strike at the Hormel plant in Austin, Minnesota, historian and strike supporter Peter Rachleff reflects on the battle waged by Food and Commercial Workers Local P-9 and its legion of backers across the country.)

>From the late summer of 1985 into the early spring of 1986, the small town of Austin, Minnesota, figured prominently in the national news. The dramatic themes and issues, twists and turns, of a labor conflict there captured the national imagination. This interest was not merely passive, as more than 30 support committees formed across the U.S. and aid for the strikers came from nineteen countries. This strike touched a raw, deep nerve.

Public private partnerships (P3s) are often used to privatize water services. Water is a human right and a public resource. Privatization restricts access to water – a vital life resource – to those who can afford to pay for it.

This is why the Council of Canadians has launched a campaign calling on the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan (OTPP) to stop investing in private, for-profit water services in Chile.

Quite a bit of work has been undertaken recently on why people often vote against their own interests… this now growing body of thought seeks to explain why those who should most want change often vote for ideological parties that defend the status quo or more accurately, in English speaking democracies, parties that trust to the markets and tradition, even if neither has been very kind to many of us.

The Dominion Newspaper Cooperative/Media Co-op is hiring a part-time administrator to communicate with the Co-op’s membership. The individual will work closely with the Media Co-op team in Montreal and be responsible for communicating with members about subscriptions, distribution, donations and sustaining.

The position may expand to include bookkeeping and payroll in the near future, so experience in managing finances and working in Simply Accounting are an added bonus.

The individual will also have the opportunity to learn more about other aspects of the Dominion’s day-to-day operations by working with the editorial collective in the Dominion’s Montreal office.

The position is for 8 hours per week at a rate of $9.50 per hour with a start date in mid-September. If bookkeeping is introduced into the job description, hours will increase to 12 per week.

Please send your resume and cover letter to info@mediacoop.ca with the subject line DOMINION ADMIN JOB no later than September 7, 2010.

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INTERNSHIPS: ONTARIO CO-OPERATIVE ASSOCIATION

The Canadian Co-operative Association (CCA) is seeking applicants for two 26-week internships as part of the Ontario Co-operative Association’s Co-operative Internship (CIEP) program. Applicants must be Canadian citizens or legally entitled to work in Canada, 30 years of age or younger, have a post-secondary diploma or degree and not be currently enrolled in studies related to a diploma/degree program. Deadline for applications is September 7, 2010.

The internship positions are:

* Communications and Web Specialist
* Government Affairs Research Associate

PROGRAM DIRECTOR: COMMUNITY EDUCATION PROGRAMS, SIMON FRASER UNIVERSITY

The Program Director, Community Education Programs, will be responsible for the design and implementation of externally-funded, collaborative, community-based programs and projects. The focus of the work will be on creating access to education for non-traditional students, in particular those from groups underrepresented in the University. The Program Director will work with University faculty and staff, community associates, and colleagues in Continuing Studies to design, deliver, evaluate and identify funding for programs and projects related to outreach education.

PART-TIME COALITION CO-ORDINATOR: SOCIAL PLANNING TORONTO(CONTRACT POSITION TO JUNE 30, 2011)

Social Planning Toronto is a non-profit community organization committed to independent social planning at the local and city-wide levels. We work to improve the quality of life for all people in Toronto through community capacity building, community education and advocacy, policy research and analysis, and social reporting.

Social Planning Toronto is seeking an experienced and skilled part-time co-ordinator to support the organizing efforts and co-ordination of the Coalition for Change (approximately 50 hours a month for 10 months).

The Coalition for Change is a newly established coalition with a diverse grassroots membership of organizations focused on improving the rights and conditions facing temporary migrant workers. One of the key principles of the coalition is to support the leadership and participation of migrant workers themselves in participating in activities and campaigns to improve working conditions and immigration status in Canada.

The Centre for the Study of Education and Work (CSEW) brings together educators from university, union, and community settings to understand and enrich the often-undervalued informal and formal learning of working people. We develop research and teaching programs at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (UofT) that strengthen feminist, anti-racist, labour movement, and working-class perspectives on learning and work.

Our major project is APCOL: Anti-Poverty Community Organizing and Learning. This five-year project (2009-2013), funded by SSHRC-CURA, brings academics and activists together in a collaborative effort to evaluate how organizations approach issues and campaigns and use popular education.